He grumbles that this isn’t their camp—they aren’t sticking around—but he knocks snow over the steaming pile as he fastens his jeans.
Petra looks at me. I gesture for Storm to stay, and then I begin to circle around to where I’ll be able to see Cherise. Petra stays ducked behind a bush.
After a few steps, I spot Cherise leaning against a tree. There’s no sign of Sidra, but she must be nearby. I keep circling until I’m opposite the couple, and I can see everything around them. Trees and a few low bushes. Nothing big enough to hide Sidra.
Both Owen and Cherise are armed, but the rifles are slung across their backs. I glance around for Dalton, but his group is long gone.
I step out from my hiding spot. “Hey, guys.”
They both spin on me. I raise my hands. Owen reaches for his rifle, but I say, “Uh-uh. You go for yours, and I go for mine, which is a lot more accessible.”
Their gazes go to my open parka, my gun right there, ready to draw.
“Storm?” I say. “Come, girl.”
She bounds from her hiding place. As she does, Petra appears five paces behind the couple, but they’re busy watching the dog. Petra stops there, her gun out, and waits.
“We hear you’ve found the baby’s mom,” I say.
Cherise’s expression doesn’t change. Her partner, however, sneaks a look her way, one that tells me what I’ve already suspected.
“Let’s trade now,” I say. “You hand her over and collect your reward.”
Cherise snorts. “Since you obviously don’t have the goods we were promised, we’re not handing her over. We’ll meet you at Rockton.”
“Sure, we can all go to Rockton. Together.”
“We’ll meet—”
“The only reason for you to argue is if you don’t have the mother.”
“Yes, we don’t, all right. We know who she is. We’re on her trail. But we still need to talk to her.”
“Talk?” I say, brows rising. “Why not just grab her and save yourself the trouble?”
“Because someone put that into the terms of the damn agreement,” she says, scowling at me. “Did I misinterpret something? I sure as hell understood that we need to bring her to you of her own free will. Which, yes, complicates things and…” She looks from my gun to Storm and launches into a string of profanity.
“Yeah, they fucked you over, babe,” Owen says.
She shoots a lethal glare at him and then swings it on me. “You did, didn’t you? Set me on this girl’s trail and then followed, waiting until I found my prey and then swooping in like a damn scavenger. I do all the work. You take the prize and then claim you owe me nothing.” She steps forward. “That was a stupid move, girl. A really, really—”
“Stop right there,” Petra says as Storm growls.
They both turn to see Petra, and I wince. Cherise hadn’t gone for her gun. There was no reason for Petra to reveal herself.
“Yes, I brought backup,” I say. “And she’s going to lower her gun right now, having realized Cherise is justifiably angry with me and not actually about to attack.”
Petra’s expression says she doesn’t appreciate taking orders from me. She still lowers the gun.
“If I did what you think, Cherise, you’d have every right to be pissed,” I say. “I did not. I’m following a separate lead directly from Rockton. I’m sure if we’d been following you for the past three days, you’d know it. Now, do you have the baby’s mother?”
Cherise throws up her hands and turns in a circle, as if to say, Do you see her?
“If we find that you kidnapped her—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Cherise snaps. “That’s the kind of mistake this idiot would make.”
She waves at Owen, who only protests with a halfhearted “Hey.” When she looks at him, he flashes a grin and a shrug and says, “Fair enough. Never claimed to be the brains of the operation. You’re with me for my pretty face. Not that I’m objecting. ’Cause you really like how I look, and I reap the benefits of your appreciation.”